It’s getting harder, and more expensive, to pay in cash
In many parts of the world, paying in cash has been in decline for years now, certainly since the pandemic, and while some older people still cling to the habit, younger generations increasingly use their smartphones or watches, rarely visiting an ATM.
One of the countries where cash payments are increasingly unwelcome is the United States: the advent of reverse ATMs, machines where you insert cash and are given a debit card with the equivalent in funds is prompting more and more establishments to stop accepting cash, saying this speeds up transactions, involves fewer visits to the bank and reduces the likelihood of robbery.
But there’s a catch: many of these reverse ATMs charge commissions, ranging from one to six dollars. If you want to have a beer or a hot dog at the Yankee Stadium, for example, you will find that the bars there do not accept cash payments, and staff will direct you to a reverse ATM.
Consumers who don’t have a bank account or who simply prefer to do their shopping with greenbacks thus increasingly find themselves paying more, (link without paywall here). Federal legislation intended to protect users and force establishments to accept government tender has yet to be passed by Congress, leading to only a few states, such as Colorado and Rhode Island, passing laws that prohibit…
